Scratch's Boarding School
by YoungAndNerdy
Summary: A Humanstuck AU - Karkat and his older brother Kankri head to a Seattle boarding school, much to Karkat's dismay (he also falls on his face a few times).
1. Chapter 1

Scratch School - A Humanstuck AU

Chapter 1: Vantas Family Bonding

Summary: Karkat and his older brother Kankri head to a Seattle boarding school, much to Karkat's dismay (he also falls down a lot).

Pairings: Karkat x John, Roxy x Calliope, possible Jake x Jane or Dirk x Jake (I'm keeping the pairing possibilities pretty open at this point)

This is my first fic, so please feel free to leave suggestions / criticism in a review! ^-^

Disclaimer: I own nothing. Andrew Hussie owns Homestuck. Please don't sue me. Cover image credit: incessantly phlegmatic . tumblr . com

"Karkat, I'm not going to ask you again. You need to get out of bed this instant".

Karkat moaned, muttered an explicative or two, and looked up to face Kankri, who was looking down at Karkat.

"Karkat, if you want to make sure you get to the school in time to claim your dorm, I have to insist that you get yourself out of bed. And I certainly can't be late for my first day on the job. You have one day to move in before your classes start, for goodness sake. Now please, get ready, or we'll both be late."

You groaned again. Kankri was being as insufferable as ever. What good reason was there to get out of bed? You'd just moved into Nevada a month ago with Kankri, so it's not like you even had any friends to go to. Hell, you didn't even know anyone! Not that it mattered; you only decided to stay in this apartment for a month or two. You'd spent the entire month keeping yourself in your room, browsing the internet or listening to music, and only leaving to eat or use the bathroom. You've also spent a lot of time chatting your friends Gamzee and Sollux back home. God you missed them. You never realized how much you loved those annoying little pricks until you moved away. And now, you're gonna be moving away again, living on your own in some god-awful boarding high school in Seattle. It's not the school part you're worried about; you were much smarter than nearly all the kids in your high school back home (not that you'd let anyone know it). Just the thought of sharing a dorm with some stranger or having to deal with living in a place where you knew no one made you cringe. You were notorious back home for your grouchy attitude towards nearly everyone. It's not like you didn't have people you liked or that you didn't care for others, but you've had a lot of trouble with bullies and making friends since you were little. After a while, you developed an antisocial attitude made it pretty hard to start relationships. And if you were being totally honest with yourself, you used your crabby charade to help hide your own insecurities. But it's not like you'd ever admit to that.

You sighed, and struggled to open your still-heavy eyes. At least this meant you got to move out of Kankri's place. As much as you loved him for being your big brother, he could be such a pain in the ass. You shuddered to think of what he would be like as a professor. Just your luck; he gets a teaching job at a boarding school, and insists that you attend there. You made sure not to sign up for sociology; you got enough lectures from Kankri at home, and certainly don't need any at school.

Fuck this, you think to yourself. You toss and turn in your bed, trying to unroll yourself from your blanket. Why the fuck is it so hot in Nevada? But before you can finish that thought, you accidentally roll over a tad too far, and the next thing you know you're lying on your bedroom floor with a dull pain in your forehead. "Shit", you curse under your breath. The perfect start to the perfect day. There wasn't any point in getting back into bed, so you begrudgingly pick yourself off the floor.

"Karkat, are you OK in there?", you hear Kankri yell from the shower.

"I'm just peachy, asshat", you retort sarcastically. You stumble tiredly over to your closet and grab the first things you see - a long sleeved maroon-colored T-shirt and your favorite black jeans. They're a bit ripped up, especially in the knees, but you just couldn't bring yourself to part with them. Besides, the rips make them look "vintage" or "grunge" or whatever. You've never had much interest in fashion (or much knowledge on it). Just as you're about to get undressed, you hear Kankri open the bathroom door yell, "Karkat! You may use the shower now. You'll be bathing in the dorm's facilities from now on, so you might as well get one more shower in". Great. Just another thing to hate about living on campus. You pick up all your shit and head over the the bathroom. Your bedroom lies right next to Kankri's, both of which open out to the main living space. The bathroom is over to the right, next to the kitchen. Your shared apartment with Kankri was far from luxurious, but it seemed like a palace compared to what you imagined the dorms at the school to be like. You head over the the bathroom, yell at Kankri to go brush his hair somewhere else, then promptly undress and hop into the shower. You let out a deep breath. You really don't want to be doing this. Not that you had much choice; you couldn't afford an apartment on your own, and you can't mooch off of Kankri for forever. Ever since mom died, Kankri had always felt responsible for you. You do realize how hard that must have been on him; Kankri has the maternal instinct of a lobster and the social skills of pigeon. He might not be much, but he's all you really have. You and he both know that he's a brilliant scholar and lecturer, but he'd been working long hours as a waiter to make ends meet. He's still in his twenties, so it took him forever to find decent teaching position. Once he was offered a job by the boarding school, he knew he had to jump at the chance. You close your eyes look down, letting the water run over your hair and trickle down your face. Even though you would never admit it, you were nervous. Hell, you were scared out of your mind! What if people didn't like you? You could get beaten up, rejected, and you'd have to deal with people you didn't even know! And you'd be living with some totally random roommate that you've never met... what if he was a jerk? An asshole? A freak? And what if people saw through your whole "I don't care" act? What if you were going to be all alone? What if they realized that you were afraid?

...

Alright. There wasn't any point in avoiding it any longer. You turn off the water and towel dry your hair before stepping into your clothes. Just as you're about to leave, you stop and look at yourself in the mirror. Your ebony hair is still a tangled mess (not that you care), your face is spotted with freckles, and your previously-tan skin has begun to lose its color since you moved. Your slightly short yet slender frame is far from imposing, but at least it doesn't make you stand out. You've been told since you were a baby that you have beautiful eyes; a deep bright brown that almost looks red in the right light. But over the past few years, your vivid eyes have been drowned out by the dark bags beneath them. You remember to quickly brush your teeth before heading out to see Kankri set and prepared to go; he'd already packed all of his things and most of yours. "Are you ready yet? We really do need to be departing soon", he said impatiently. "Just a sec, Kan. I need to grab my clothes-" "I already packed them", he interrupted. God, why does he always interrupt you? It's so annoying. "Everything you're going to need for school is already in the bags", he said while handing you a giant and tattered-old rolling luggage bag. "Now, if you're finished getting ready, let's leave immediately".

"Fine."

...

The drive to Seattle was almost as painful as the tumble you took down the stairs of the apartment building. You could have sworn that the asshole standing next to you tripped you, but one moment you're struggling with your luggage and the next you're lying face down in the lobby. Kankri was convinced you'd had a concussion, but you were able to talk him out of driving straight to the emergency room. "Does it still hurt?", he asked from the front seat. "The only thing that hurts is this shitty ice pack you're making me wear", you snap. "And why the fuck is it so crowded back here? I can hardly breathe". Kankri couldn't fit all the bags in the trunk of the Prius, so he did his best to fit some in the back seats. It was a perfect plan - except for the fact that he made you lie down in the back. "Karkat, you need to lie down to ease your possible concussion. I would let you sit in front but-" "IT'S NOT A FUCKING CONCUSSION YOU DIPSHIT", you yell. You really shouldn't have said that. Realizing what you've said, you grumble an apology. You didn't mean it. But these nerves are really starting to get to you. God you're such an asshole. No wonder you're scared you won't get anyone to like you; who'd wanna be associated with a grouchy little fuck like you? There's not even any point in trying to-

"It's OK."

Kankri interrupts your train of thought. After pausing for a moment, he continues. "You're nervous, aren't you?" God dammit. You hate it when he does this. How can he always see right through you? You roll over and face the seat, bracing yourself for another one of Kankri's famous five-hour lectures. "I know you are, because I'm a bit nervous myself". Wait... what the fuck? This isn't like Kankri at all. "You... you're going to be just fine, Karkat. Think of it as a fresh start, for the both of us." And that was that. No lectures, not scolding, nothing. Just... whatever the hell that was. It didn't really make you feel any better, but you appreciated it nonetheless. You roll around to face him "Uh... Thanks, Kan", you stutter. He smiles at you weakly through the rear-view mirror, then returns his attention to the road. You're both feeling pretty awkward after such a sappy conversation, so you both silently agree to spend the rest of the drive in silence (or at least the next hour or so). You try to kill time however you can for the next hour; the drive from Nevada to Seattle was around 5 hours at best. After watching the rain fall across your window, messing with your Nintendo DS, listening to music, and chatting Sol for a few minutes (before you lost your cell phone connection), you gradually fall into an awkward and disorienting sleep.

...

*BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP*

"OBEY THE POSTED TRAFFIC LAWS, YOU VACUOUS RUFFIAN!" You instantly sit up straight, your body tensing like a startled cat. You see Kankri hunched over the wheel, driving along a crowded city highway with an intense mask of fury on his face. "My apologies for waking you, Karkat. That hooligan was speeding in the carpool lane when he clearly only had one person in the vehicle! He nearly cut me off, the brute. Regardless, we'll be arriving momentarily". "k..Kankri, what THE FUCK? I thought we were going fucking to crash! Don't... don't scare me like that! Jesus!", you rant, still disorientated from waking so suddenly. Kankri really gets into his "I must fight for social justice" mood when other drivers don't obey traffic laws. After calming down and assuring yourself that you aren't about to have a stroke, you take a moment to look out the window; thick overcast with a light rain. Classic Seattle weather. One of the few things about the move that you found bearable was the fact that you wouldn't get to see the sun very often; the two of you never really liked each other anyways. After pulling off the highway, Kankri began attempting to locate the school with his GPS. While he was inputting addresses and following directions, it gave you a chance to soak up the scenery of the city. While the sky needle was relatively impressive, your irritation with your situation made everything else about the city seem stupid and uninteresting. Finally, Kankri was able to find the school, nestled deeply in the heart of the city's downtown.

...

The Headmaster was creepy as fuck. Kankri left to go sign in with the other teachers, so he left you all alone for initiation. Once the two of you had finally arrived, the headmaster was finishing up his initiation speech. Just the usual "blah blah I hope you all succeed blah blah you are the future blah blah no weapons on campus blah blah". But he really was pretty creepy; his skin a ghostly white, his head as shiny and bare as a bowling ball, and he wore an outfit that looked like it belonged to a leprechaun Halloween costume. His name tag read "Dr. Scratch". After the initiation (which you spent the entirety of browsing Tumblr), you each received a dorm-room number. The campus had four main buildings; one large one which held all the classrooms, and four more smaller buildings arranged around the center one, forming a half circle with the main building in the center. The dorms were on the bottom of the map, at the southern end of the semi-circle. You were dreading meeting your roommate, so you spent some time aimlessly wandering the campus. The library building was quite impressive and had lots of private reading rooms; you made a mental note to hide out there if you wanted to stay away from people. The sports building was quite lavish, but the thought of any physical exercise made you cringe. The recreation building had quite a lot to do as well. As for the students, most of them either seemed to be the stuck-up preppy type or the delinquents who got sent to boarding school because their parents wanted them out of the house; when you walked past, they either sneered or scowled. You try to give them your best "whatever" look, but you're first impression of them have already started diminish whatever shred of confidence you might of had to begin with.

...

After stalling for as much as you think you can, you finally decide to face the inevitable. You've been hanging outside your dorm room for 10 minutes now; room 413B on the 4th floor. On the other side of that door lies the chump who got stuck living with you for the next four years. The dorms are separated by gender, so at least you won't get some bratty rich-girl. But what if you end up with some bratty rich boy? You can see him now, standing on the other side of the door, calling his billionaire daddy and complaining about how he needs some new fancy Egyptian bed sheets for his room or some $200 shoes to match his uniform. Or maybe it will be some ridiculous skater-punk kid. He'll have his hair all spiked up and dyed red or something, and be wearing chains and leather and smoking a cigarette. You'll walk in and he'll give you some intense scowl that screams "I hate everything, but I especially hate you, you uncool nerdy little fuck". God, this was going to be awful. But you couldn't stand sitting out here thinking about it any longer. After standing in front of the door for another 3 minutes with your hand on the knob, you get up the courage to go in. "Fuck, I hate this school", you whisper. You grab the door and fling it open.

...

"Eeeeek!"  
You stare at your roommate, whom you've just scared into screaming like a schoolgirl. "Oh, gosh, erm, sorry! You just, kinda surprised me, that's all", he stutters. "Well, you must be Karkat" "Erm, yeah, sorry for scaring you", you say awkwardly as you walk tentatively into the dorm. He offer's you his hand. "Nice to meet you", he says with a beaming grin. "I'm John. John Egbert.


	2. Chapter 2

"Alrighty then. So, the list says that we're going to need a few more books.. And some supplies for Mrs. Maryam's art class. Wow, this really is a cool bookstore! Oh, and it says here that Professor Serket wants us to pick up blah and also some blah blah and then we blah blah blah..." God he talks a lot. You've managed to drown out most of what he says, but still. The kid reminds you of an excited little puppy dog; and he has those giant, innocent blue eyes behind glasses so thick you could hardly believe he can see. Everything about him seemed to scream "I'm cute, innocent, and a total dweeb". His tan shorts, his geeky graphic tee, his tousled black hair, his baby-blue converse sneakers... Still, you suppose he could be worse. In a way, you almost kind of empathize with him. He seems like the kind of kid who didn't have many friends back home. Maybe he's just excited to have a friend, even if it's against your will. He's only known you for a few hours, and he's chatting and walking with you like you're best buddies. He's an annoying little shit, but a likeable one, you suppose. You decide to pull out your phone to check your schedule. Dr. Scratch had everyone get a digital schedule on their phones. He seemed to be pretty obsessed with technology in general, which he made obvious with all the monitors and touchscreens around campus. He also insisted that everyone visit the campus bookstore and get everything needed for classes tomorrow, so it was packed as hell in here. You can barely hear John babble over the sound of the crowd, but it was in fact a pretty cool bookstore. Very big, bright, and airy, with a rustic sort of feel. It had two floors, the lower one containing all the textbooks, checkout clerks, and supplies, while the upper level had a coffee shop, regular non-boring books, and the classic shitty school merch. At least John was pretty organized. You'd both picked up almost all of the books you need. You squint to look at your digital textbook list. Why the hell was their so much stuff on here? You can hardly read it (you forgot your reading glasses back in Nevada). Maybe if you squint a little-

"FUCK", you shout out of reflex. Before realizing what happened, you're lying on your butt, your phone's on the floor, and the girl you just ran into is sitting in front of you rubbing her forehead. "Oh, shit. Uh, hey, sorry about that.", you mutter awkwardly. John finally stops talking about books for a second. "Oh, gosh! Are you guys alright?", he says as he reaches down and offers the girl a hand. She looks up to see his outstretched hand and your face, and begins to blush. "Oh! No, my apologies. I wasn't paying attention.", she says as John helps the two of you up. "Are you alright, um.." "Karkat. And John. Again, sorry about that.", you say flusteredly. "It's quite alright", she says with a smile. You hadn't really noticed until now, but she's almost kind of... cute? She has a petite and dainty frame (the top of her head only reaches your chin), pale skin and pixie-cute platinum blonde hair that almost looks white in the sunlight. She's wearing a lime-green dress with lots of lace and a large bow in the middle. A bit dressy for the occasion, but it seemed to suit her. "My name is Calliope, but please, call me Callie", she says in a sweet voice. "I suppose you two are new here as well?" After making slightly awkward chitchat with Callie, you find out that she's actually pretty cool. At least she's not terribly hard to talk to. You also find out that her parents are working abroad as international diplomats, and that they enrolled her here with her brother. "So we don't get to see them much", she continued. "But so far I think that the school is a rather-" "WHAT _IN FUCK_ ARE YOU DOING?" A shout comes from the end of the aisle. You turn to see some kid in suspenders and corduroy pants storming towards you. God damn he looks pissed. You try putting on your best "Whatever, fuckass" face, but you're honestly pretty nervous. What the fuck does he want? Oh god, he's getting closer. You start to tense up. Is he going to fight you? He's about an inch taller than you, and a bit bigger. He's a few feet away from you now. You gather whatever shred of courage you have and are about to shout a witty remark, when all of a sudden Callie turns to face him. "Yes, what is it Caliborn? Something wrong?", she says calmly. You stand there, your mouth still open. As your brain begins to calm down, you realize that he must have been talking to Callie. You finally let out the breath you've been holding for the past ten seconds. You look over to see that John had a similar reaction. "OF COURSE SOMETHING IS WRONG. WHERE THE FUCK HAVE YOU BEEN? I TOLD YOU TO MEET ME AT THE CHECKOUT AISLE ONCE YOU WERE FINISHED!", he shouts. Wow he's loud. "Oh, my apologies. I was just speaking to my new friends! Allow me to introduce you!", she says with a smile as she claps her hands together. How can she be so calm? This dude seems like a complete asshole. She turns over to you and John. "John, Karkat, allow me to introduce you to my twin brother Caliborn. Caliborn, meet John and Karkat, my new friends". Both you and John drop your jaws. You'd never guessed that the two were related, much less twins. They couldn't be more different, in both their personalities and appearances; One one hand you have Callie, the small, cute, and sweet blondie, and on the other you have Caliborn. His frame is stocky but not chubby, his hair a short dirty brown and spiked on top, and his skin a tan olive. Now that you take a moment to observe his appearance, you realize that he's dressed in a rather pompous manner; dark green chords, a black dress shirt, and neon-green suspenders. His shoes are all-black vans, and look brand new. He either works hard on his appearance or just wears whatever the fuck he wants. You aren't really sure yet. Your train of thought is interrupted by John as greets Caliborn. "Hi there! Nice too meet-" "Callie, let's get going for fucks sake", Caliborn says to her (while ignoring John completely). He grabs Callie by the wrist and begins to walk away. "Oh, for goodness sake!" she complains as she goes with Caliborn. She turns to face you and John. "My apologies for my brothers ridiculous behavior! I hope to see you guys again soon!" she says brightly, almost like she's used to situations like this. "Oh, erm, by then! Nice meeting you! And, uh, you too Caliborn!", John says happily. As Caliborn turns the corner of the aisle and heads out of your sight, you could almost swear that you see him flip John the bird.

...

"Well, uh, she seemed nice!", John stammers. "Yeah", you respond. "I guess she was alright, but Caliborn seemed like a total crabass." "Uh, well... yeah. He was a *crabass*". John tries to mimic your raspy tone of voice when saying the last word, but his high-pitched voice can't quite manage and it ends up cracking terribly. His entire face goes a beet red, but it makes you chuckle just the slightest. He tries desperately to change the subject. "Uh, do you want to go get some coffee or something? And I also need to grab some books upstairs". You head up the the shop with John, who orders a raspberry frappuccino with extra whipped cream. You decide to just grab an iced tea. He heads over to the fiction section to get a novel for English class, so you decide to head to the bathroom. Well, you would've if you had any fucking clue where it was. After going downstairs to ask a clerk, you head back upstairs and are looking down each aisle when you notice someone in the manga section; a kid, about your age, just lying down and chillin alone in the middle of the aisle, reading a manga book. You notice a pile of textbooks lying next to him, so you assume that he's a new student here too (a sociology textbook lies on top of the pile. The poor sucker must be enrolled in Kankri's class). He actually seems pretty... cool? He's sprawled out on the floor in a relaxed position, wearing some gray skinny jeans, a black wife beater, and a pair of totally cool / totally ridiculous shades. His hair looks like he got it straight out of the book he's reading; blonde (but not quite as blonde as Callie's), and spiked up in very particular angles that make him look like an anime character himself. He turns to face you. Oh shit. He noticed you staring. Fuck Ok. Act natural, you tell yourself. No need to be nervous You decide to head over and pretend that you were staring at one of the books instead. He's still staring. Ok, er, just don't make eye contact. You walk over and pick up the first manga book you see. Just pretend to read it and then walk away, you tell yourself. You flip through it for about a minute. Seems like a weird adventure comic about sailor women and planets and magical transformations and shit. You take a discreet look over your shoulder at the anime kid. Yep. He's still there. After making eye contact with him for a few seconds, you gives you a subtle nod. Apparently he approves of your taste in fictional japanese sailors. You keep reading until you decide it might be best to go find John. You carefully tread back over anime dude (who's still lying on his back reading in the middle of the aisle) and head over to the fiction section. Gosh, John's really absorbed in his book. You quietly sneak up on him from behind. You silently lean your head over his shoulder and loudly ask "Whatcha readin?" He jumps, throws the book straight up in the air, and makes a noise that sounds like a puppy who had it's tail pulled. The book tumbles back to the ground, but not before hitting you on the head. You turns around to face you, and his face goes red again. "Karkat! Gosh, don't scare me like that!", he says as he gives you a friendly shove. "If you didn't flip your shit every time I came near, I wouldn't do it any more", you say jokingly. He smiles weakly and continues - "Anyways, we can head back to the dorm now. We might have to share a book or two, but we should be alright. I just need to pay for this. You can head back if you want". "Uh, sure, I guess.", you answer. You grab your new textbooks and begin to head back to the bottom floor. "Wait, John!", you yell out as you turn around. You head up to him and hand him five dollars and a book. "Just... grab this for me, K?" "Uh, Sure!", he says with a grin. He looks down at the book, and then chuckles a tiny bit. "What?", you snap defensively. "N-Nothing! I... I just wouldn't have guessed that you were into Sailor Moon!"

...

The dorms were shitty, but they could be shittier. Yours was rectangular in shape, with a bunk bed in one of the back corners and a pair or dressers in the other. In the corners near the entrance were two small rooms, a changing room in the left corner and a small bathroom in the right. The bathroom was only equipped with a toilet and sink, however. The showers were in the athletics building next to the classrooms. You wanted to be alone for a minute or two, so after leaving the bookstore you decide to head over and give them the showers try. The men's shower room is basically a long hallway with lockers on one side and showers separated by curtains on the other. Someone was already in the nearest shower when you arrive, so you head to the one at the far end. You grab a towel, quickly get undressed, and hop in. The shower you chose doesn't seem to be working well and the water takes forever to heat up, but you don't really care. After about five minutes you decide you should get back to the dorm and start unpacking for the night; all your shit is still in the bag on your bed. You wrap your towel around your waist, pull away the shower curtain, and then you see him. He's standing on the other side of the hall, getting his things of out a locker. And he's buck naked, just his black hair and his olive skin. At least his back is turned, so you get to see a facefull of ass and nothing more. Is that what guys do in showers? You've never really used one in public. How should you know? Should you say something? Act like nothing's out of ordinary? Should you take off your towel? No, that last one's stupid. You're not going to do that. But still, you really have no idea how to deal with this situation. Thankfully, he doesn't let you decide; he turns around and freezes when he notices you staring. Fuck. Neither of you have any idea how to react. You spend what feels like an eternity maintaining painful eye contact. Just don't look down, you tell yourself. Finally, he slowly turns around, grabs the towel on the floor in front of him, stands up, and puts it on. He turns back around to face you, his face as red as a stop sign. "Um, hello there", he says tentatively. He spoke with what sounds like a goofy Northern accent. "My, uh, apologies", he continues. "I wasn't aware that anyone else was in the room". "No, it... it's fine", you stamer. You grab your pile of clothes that you left in front of the shower and head back behind the curtain. Is your face red? You feel like it's really red. Still, at least he didn't seem creeped out by you. After throwing on your clothes, you head out to find that the kid's gotten dressed (thank god). He's wearing a pair of well-worn cutoff shorts along with a t-shirt and open flannel shirt, complete with thick-framed glasses. You decide it would be best to walk away and hope that you never see each other again, but he notices you on your way out. "Ah! There you are!", he says as he smiles. "I'm afraid I never properly introduced myself!" He walks over to you and offers you his hand. "My name is Jacob Clarence English, but plese, call me Jake". You place your hand in his, and he shakes it firmly. "I'm, um, Karkat Vantas, but, er, call me Karkat". It's a lame joke, but he humors you with a small chuckle. "So, are you heading back to your dorm? Please, allow me to join you". The two of you head out the showers and up to your dorms. Jake makes most of the conversation, but he politely gives you opportunities to join in without making it seem awkward. You find out that he grew up with his grandfather in Africa (he was an anthropologist studying ape skeletons or something), and that he only recently retired in Seattle. Jake never really had much socialization in Africa, so his grandfather sent him here to help him make some friends or whatever. Even though his upbringing was rather rugged, he acts like a perfect gentleman. You decide to add him to your list of people here that you don't completely hate. By the time you make it back up to your dorm, you're almost enjoying your conversation. "Oh! This one's mine!" he says as he pulls out a key. His dorm's two doors down from yours. You exchange cell phone numbers say your salutations as he opens the door. Just as you're about to walk away, you see through the open door that John is sitting inside Jake's dorm with some dude. He notices you and waves. "Hey! Karkat! Over here!" "John? What the fuck are you doing?", you ask. "I forgot my key when we went to the store, so I needed to wait for you to get back so you could let me into the dorm. Dirk was friendly enough to let me hang here!" You're about to go open up your dorm for him when Jake interrupts. "Karkat, would you like to come in for a minute? I'd love to continue our conversation, and you can say hello to Dirk as well". You're about to decline when John pipes in. "He'd love to! Come on in, Karkat!". Fuck. God damn it John! You give him a scowl, but awkwardly head into the dorm. "Please, make yourself comfortable", Jake says as he closes the door. You sit down on a beanbag near the entrance. "Uh, thanks Jake." After you get struggle to get yourself comfortable in the awkwardly lumpy beanbag, you finally look up and notice the kid John's been hanging with. The first things you notice are his spiked hair totally rad shades. There's no mistaking him - It's anime kid. He gives you a cool smile, a subtle nod, and introduces himself. "Hey Karkat. I'm Dirk."


	3. Chapter 3

Hello everyone! I know I haven't posted a chapter in quite a while, but finals have been crazy lately. -_- Hopefully I'll be able to work on the fic more once they're finished. But I wanted to address something about the fic - I'm not sure where I want to take it yet, mainly with the romance / ships. My intention was for it to be not as romance-oriented, but I still want to have some in one form or another. I'm playing with a few ideas so far, but if you have any suggestions / pairings you wanna see / things you would want to happen / criticism / ideas / anything else, please don't hesitate to tell me in a review! It would be much appreciated ^-^ Anyways, I hope you enjoy the chapter!

"And, long story short, my bro and I ended up eating the entire thing in less than a minute". Everyone lets out a chorus of laughter, including yourself. You almost can't believe it; you're starting to enjoy yourself. Dirk, Jake, John and yourself have been exchanging jokes and anecdotes for about an hour now, and you're finding it easier and easier to join in the conversation. You'll admit that Dirk seemed pretty cold and intimidating at first, but now that you've gotten to know him he's actually quite talkative. He seems like a pretty cool guy, you decide. "So guys,", he says. "Jake and I were thinking about having a party for all the new freshmen tomorrow night. You guys be in?" "Uh, sure! That sounds really fun!", John says as he sits up in his seat. "Great!", adds Jake. Dirk turns to face you. "What about it, Kar?" Oh god. On one hand, you think it'd be cool to hang with Dirk and Jake, but you've never been one for parties. You're always that one guy who sits in the back on his phone who tries to avoid any social interaction whatsoever. "I don't know, I'm not very good at parties..." "Oh, come on then! It'll be fun, you'll see", Jake pipes in. Fuck. They actually want you to come. At this point, you'd almost prefer that they didn't like you enough to insist that you'd join them. And you know John won't go without nagging endlessly for you to join him. Screw it. "... alright then. If you think so." Dirk flashes you one of his trademark subtle smiles. "Cool. Looking forward to it".

...

You flop down on your bed face first. Your teeth are brushed, you pjs are on, and now you don't care about anything but sleep. You and John stayed up pretty late talking to Jake and Dirk, so now you need as much sleep as you possibly before class tomorrow. Shit. You forgot all about class. You push that last thought out of your mind before you let yourself get to nervous about it. All that matters right now is sleep.

"Karkat! What are you doing? We still need to unpack!"

You try to mumble "Fuck off, John", but with your face in the pillow all the comes out is "Fh mf jhm" "What? Karkat, I can't understand anything you're saying" You roll over onto your back and complain in a whiny tone. "Aughhh. Let's just do it tomorrow. I'm tired and I really wanna get some fucking shuteye." He pauses for a moment before continuing. "Um, alright, I guess we can do that after the party tomorrow..." "That's fucking dandy. Now I'm going to sleep if you don't mind. Wake me up at 7.", you say as you roll back onto your stomach. "Ok, Mr. Grouchy Pants.", he says jokingly. You look up at him with a scowl. "What did you call me?", you murmur ominously. He grins, leans towards you, and repeats "Grouchy. Pants" You smile devilishly. Alright, if that's how he wants to play. You reach out behind you, grab your pillow, and chuck it at John's face. He catches the pillow, but you catch him off his guard, and he falls on his butt. He looks up to you with a cheeky grin gleam in his eye. "If you start this, I will _finish_ it!", he says as he throws the pillow back at you, hitting you smack in the face. "Oh, it's on, Egbert!" You throw the pillow back at John, and grab another off your bed. He catches it, and the two of you proceed to banter back and forth. "You think *hit* I'm grumpy?", you ask. "I don't know! *smack* What if I do?", John says with a laugh. "Well, *push* I'll teach you to call _me_ grumpy!", you retort. "I'd love *thump* see you TRY!" John swings at you with all his might, but you duck underneath his swing, and his momentum causes him to slip and fall onto the floor. This is your chance. As he rolls onto his back, you pounce. You promptly sit atop him, establishing your victory in this pillow fight. You hold the pillow above your head. "So", you say with a playful yet menacing tone. "What you still think I'm grumpy?" John looks up at you. "No", he says while holding back a giggle. "I think you're a crabass". You bring the pillow down on his face and gently hold it there. "I'm sorry, what was that?" "Mf a frbfss" "Pardon me?", you say as you lift the pillow off of his face. "I said, you are a lovely person with a great personality, you smell nice and you have the temper of a saint", he says with ever-so-slight sarcasm. You let out a lighthearted chuckle and roll over onto your back, lying next to him. Neither of you really know why you engaged in the impromptu pillow war. But you're so tired at this point that you honestly don't care. The two of you sit there in silence for a few minutes. God, you wish tomorrow would never come. Today was almost actually kind of ..fun? You let out a sigh and look over at John. "John, do me a favor." He looks to you. "Yeah, Karkat?" You look back up at the ceiling, put your hands behind your head, and close your eyes. "Wake me up at 7, k?"

...

"Psst! Karkat. Karkat wake up". You slowly begin to regain consciousness. God you're tired. Can't this wait? You're about to mumble a "fuck off" when he screams, "KARKAT! WAKE UP, CLASS STARTS IN 10 MINUTES". You sit straight up, your eyes wide. You turn to see John sitting beside you. "Jesus fuck, what was that for?". He looks at you innocently. "I've been nudging and whispering to you for the past five minutes! I never knew you were such a heavy sleeper! Anyways, we really have to get ready!" You sigh as you struggle to open your still heavy eyes. Your back is killing you - it probably wasn't a great idea to pass out on the floor. You notice that your head isn't hurting, however. You look behind you and notice that John had tucked a pillow behind your head last night. You can't help but blush. He might be a dork of a roommate, but he is really pretty sweet. Not that you'd ever let him know, but you're actually extremely grateful that he got stuck with you. At least you won't be going through this alone. He stands up and continues, "I'm already finished in the bathroom, so you can go ahead and get ready. I think we have all our books ready to go, and we can come back to the dorm after English class since we have some time between blah and blah blah..." He continues to ramble as you begrudgingly stand up. "Yeah, John, it's fine. I'll just get dressed and grab my shit real quick." "Oh! OK, sounds good then!" You head over to the bathroom as John starts to pack his backpack. After quickly brushing your teeth and taking a piss, you head out and see that John is already set and ready to go. You change into some maroon jeans and your favorite black hoodie, stuff your books into your bag. You and John finally head out of the dorm to find Jake and Dirk hanging out in the hallway. Dirk looks at the two of you over his totally ridiculous anime shades. You notice that his eyes are a bright brown, almost orange in the sunlight. Jake let's out a beaming grin and waves to you two. "Good morning, chaps! Which class are you headed to?", he asks. John pipes up before you can. "Karkat and I are headed to biology. Are you and Dirk headed there too?" The four of you decide to exchange class schedules. The school assigns dominates the same classes, so you and John share all your classes (as do Jake and Dirk). Their's reads:

8:00 A.M. : Biology - Professor Leijon

9:00 A.M. : English - Professor Nitram

10:30 A.M. : Foreign Culture Studies - Professor Megido

11:45 A.M. : Art - Mrs. Pyrope

12:30 P.M. : Lunch

1:15 P.M. : P.E. - Mr. Zahhak

2:30 P.M.: Sociology - Professor Vantas

Your's and John's reads:

8:00 A.M. : Biology - Professor Leijon

9:00 A.M. : Math - Dr. Captor

10:30 A.M. : World History - Professor Serket

11:50 A.M. : English - Professor Nitram

12:30 P.M. : Lunch

1:15 P.M. : P.E. - Mr. Zahhak

2:30 P.M.: Musical Studies - Mr. Ampora

"That's nice! It appears that we have Biology and Phys Ed together", Jake chimes in. "Awesome!", John says with a smile. "Sounds cool", adds Dirk. "Hey, by the way guys, Jake and I are headed out shopping after class. We need to grab some stuff for the bash tonight. Care to join us?" You and John agree, but Jake mentions that it's about a 30 minute walk from campus to the downtown. "Are you guys OK with that? Do you have enough time after class?", he asks. You're about to agree when a thought crosses your mind. You really don't want to... but it seems like there's not really another choice. Fuck it. "Hey, guys, I can get my brother Kankri to drive us, if you want... He's teaching here, so he'll need to go to his apartment downtown after class anyways." The idea of a thirty minute walk almost seems better than spending the afternoon with Kankri. "But it honestly might just be easier to walk. He can be a bit of a pain". "That's a great idea!", John says excitedly. "Sounds good to me", adds Dirk. John opens his mouth to say something when a loud "BRIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIING" blares in your ears. "My gosh! We're going to be late for class!", John says as he starts to hurry off. Aw fuck. Guess there isn't much point in avoiding class any longer. You briefly consider ditching, and you probably would've if Kankri weren't here. He'd give you a hell far worse than biology class if he heard you ditched your first day. "Sounds good.", says Dirk. "Let's get going".

...

"Helloooooooo, class! Welcome to another _wonderfully_ exciting semester! My name is Professor Meulin Leijon, and I will be your biology teacher this year!" What the fuck is she acting so excited for? She certainly wasn't what you expected from a biology teacher; her long and unruly black hair drapes over a forest green t-shirt layered over a black button up shirt, a black miniskirt, and matching green tights. If it weren't for the fact that she looked to be about 25, she seemed to be more of a student than a teacher. And god she talked a lot. She said nearly everything in a singsong voice, as if she thought it was the most interesting thing you ever heard. Not that you spent much time listening to what she said. You spend the next half hour covertly texting Sollux back home until your phone dies. You mutter an expletive before making a mental note to pick up a phone charger when you go out tonight. You let out a quiet sigh and lean back in your seat, wondering how to kill the next half hour. You sure as hell aren't going to spend it paying attention. Biology has always been one of your strong subjects, and it's not like she's not going to say anything important the first day. You take a minute and look idly around the classroom. It's relatively bright and airy, set on the third and highest floor of the main building. The classroom seats an even thirty. You're sitting in the 2nd row from the back; not drawing too much attention, but still not removing yourself completely. Jake and Dirk are in the row in front of you, and John's seated next to your right, frantically writing down all the notes he can. You can't help but grin. He's a cute little shit. His dorkiness is growing on you. And you're actually feeling excited for tonight. Whenever you were invited to a party back home (which wasn't often), you'd either spend the entire week dreading it or decide to ditch. But Dirk and Jake almost made you feel comfortable about the whole ordeal. And, at the very least, you would have John with you. You turn to take a glance at the clock (still 29 insufferable minutes to go) when you hear a discreet "pssst" from the seat next to you. Turn around to notice the girl sitting on your left for the first time. Her delicately curled blonde hair frames her piercing blue eyes, which wink at you as you look to her. You then notice that she's discreetly offering you a folded slip of paper from under her desk. Ah fuck. She probably want's you to pass a love note to some dick-shit boyfriend of hers or something. You reluctantly accept, just to keep her from bothering you. You slowly grab the note while keeping an eye on the teacher. Once it's safely underneath your desk, you glance down to take a look. It's folded, so you can't read its contents. The top has been scrawled on in pink pen:

*front

"Pass to the hot piece of ass in frnot of you ;) A.K.A Jake"

Thanks!

~ Roxy


End file.
